RCA has announced that it is ready to ship several portable TVs that can be used to watch digital TV broadcasts or Mobile DTV feeds. The offerings include three standalone models with 3.5- or seven-inch displays, along with a tuner for car infotainment systems. The larger DMT270R centers around a seven-inch LCD with 800x480 resolution, with a built-in battery claimed to extend past four hours of viewing.
Mobile Content Venture has announced that it will begin upgrading TV stations in 20 major US markets to be able to also broadcast Mobile Digital TV (DTV). By late 2011, it is expected that up to 40% of the US population will have access to the service, which will begin rolling out across New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas and Washington DC amongst others. The service will initially consist of at least two ad-supported free-to-consumer channels in each market. Additional channels and markets will be added over time.
A group of twelve broadcast groups, including major players such as NBC and Fox, have formed a joint venture aimed at creating a national mobile content service. The system will utilize existing broadcast spectrum to deliver a variety of content such as live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, along with sports and entertainment programming.
LG today provided full details of its first Mobile DTV device for the US after this week's previous teaser. The DP570MH behaves superficially like a portable DVD player and can play these movies from its 7-inch, 480x234 screen but has a tuner for the new mobile digital TV standard to pick up live TV, even when traveling at speeds that would thwart regular digital TV signals. It can alternately load JPEG photos and WMA audio from a USB port.
LG today teased some of its plans for CES by showing the first two devices to use the new Mobile DTV standard for free over-the-air broadcasts in the US. Headlining these is a modified version of the LG Lotus messaging phone that adds an antenna and tuner to pick up live TV. Also on tap is a portable DVD player, the DP570MH, that will show as much as four hours of digital TV when on battery.
